I'm floored by the thought that a 2.5 year old just randomly taking bites of something she's never seen before.

If her mother was standing there, presumably helping her get clothes back in place, washing hands, etc..why didn't she stop her, surely the mom has seen bar soap before?

I'm not. Some kids really explore the world with their mouths, and depending on the kid it may not completely taper off until 3. And they can be super fast, despite mom's best efforts. I assume she probably didn't realize the kid was going to actually bite the soap until it was too late.

If this happened to me, it would just be a silly kid story. Nobody did anything bad, the kid just made a mistake. No rational human could have anticipated the girl's reaction to the soap.

The real problem with this situation is that the child's parents failed to teach her not to put strange things in her mouth.

We don't know this - teaching is a process. With one of mine, I could have said one time, never put anything in your mouth, and he would have never done it. With the other, it used to require constant vigilance. And I can guarantee it was not from lack of effort or consistency on my part.

"This reminded me of when my granddaughter went through her soap-making phase. She did make soaps that looked like hamburgers."

I don't mean to sidetrack, but that sounds well beyond cool. I'd love to have something like that in the downstairs bathroom. Anyway, no Lady Snowdon, you don't have to try to anticipate children eating your soap, so just wash your hands of the whole thing.

Virg

I remember going through model homes that had candles in the shapes of various foods around the kitchen; hamburgers, cupcakes, glasses of "lemonade" complete with "ice" & straws, ice cream, and the like - there was NO soap in the bathrooms because they didn't want anyone using the model homes' "facilities". Too many people going through every day to have the bathroom door shut and the room left smelling "less than freshly cleaned", I'm sure.

But nobody tried taking bites out of the cupcake candles....that I saw (the wicks were long enough to notice).

Just ignore the comments from the peanut gallery - the kid is still young enough that many of them put things in their mouth and at least it was SOAP and not a diamond ring (that someone would have to follow her around to "retrieve").

The real problem with this situation is that the child's parents failed to teach her not to put strange things in her mouth.

We don't know this - teaching is a process. With one of mine, I could have said one time, never put anything in your mouth, and he would have never done it. With the other, it used to require constant vigilance. And I can guarantee it was not from lack of effort or consistency on my part.

Oops. Forget I said anything...I went back and re-read the OP. For some reason, I had it in my head that the kid was 8, not 21/2.

Actually, it's extremely common for kids that age to put stuff in their mouths. That's the whole point though, isn't it? If this child is one who does still explore the world through her mouth, then surely the mother knows this and she should be vigilant in situations like this where they are in an unfamiliar place. After all, people put all kinds of things in their bathrooms aside from the usual soap, TP & towels. Candles are common, perfume bottles, air fresheners, etc.

Again, if Mom turned her head for a second and the kid put the soap in her mouth, well, these things happen. But to imply that it was the OP's fault for having soap in her bathroom in the first place, or for the OP to think that she somehow has to anticipate all the items in her house that might potentially end up in the kid's mouth is over the top.

Back in college, I worked in a coffee shop, and we had some bagels that were preserved in varnish that were just for display. At the end of one year, they all had numerous dents and chips in them from employees (even myself, once) mistaking them for the "real" bagels and trying to slice them.

Is this something I should have anticipated when having people over? Is this something I should be asking people with kids about in the future? I've never heard of someone never seeing bar soap before, so I'm a little confused on if this is my problem, or just Julia's mom trying to deflect blame for her kid trying to eat my soap.

I'm sorry, but I can't help but find this funny. A 2 year old has never seen a bar of soap before? Said 2 year old, while under her mom's supervision* tries to eat it, and it's your fault? Uh no, not your problem.

*Not that I'm blaming the mom for the soap eating attempt either. Kids can do the dumbest things in the blink of an eye.

Is this something I should have anticipated when having people over? Is this something I should be asking people with kids about in the future? I've never heard of someone never seeing bar soap before, so I'm a little confused on if this is my problem, or just Julia's mom trying to deflect blame for her kid trying to eat my soap.

I'm sorry, but I can't help but find this funny. A 2 year old has never seen a bar of soap before? Said 2 year old, while under her mom's supervision* tries to eat it, and it's your fault? Uh no, not your problem.

*Not that I'm blaming the mom for the soap eating attempt either. Kids can do the dumbest things in the blink of an eye.

When I was 5, my class got to play with shaving cream and whipped cream, both in cans. Guess which one I put in my mouth - no, it wasn't the tasty one. However, my parents did not try to sue the daycare or anything like that. They accepted it as one of those "life happens" moments, and it taught me to look at something before I put it in my mouth.

POD to posters who call the mother a twit. The kid may be very "mouthy," but the parent knows enough to know that soap belongs in a bathroom, and shouldn't flip out that a person dared to use solid soap instead of liquid.

Logged

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends" - Harry Potter

I'm curious as to whether the mom actually said something that cast blame on you, OP, or whether it was her tone? I can totally see myself explaining that my child bit the soap in a mildly scolding tone, aimed at my child, but I can see where it could be misunderstood.

This is what I'm thinking. If all you're going on is an annoyed tone of voice, I'd assume her ire is directed at the child and not you.

As for never having seen a bar of soap before, I can totally see it. The kid only has 2 1/2 years of experience to draw on and if her parents never use bar soap, where would she have seen it before?